hey guys so i was driving to a rotary meet and out of no where my "add coolant" light came on with that annoying buzzer.

i checked the coolant tank and i did have coolant but seems like all the coolant from the system back flowed to the tank.

do any one have any idea what i could be.

 

mine drives me crazy anytime i take a long curve i guess all the coolant sloshes to one side and it goes off..

 

you might want to do a search for 'champagne test'...

the easy fix is maybe your cap needs replacing, either from the neck or the overflow tank.

the not so easy fix is tearing down your motor because it has a blown coolant seal and the exhaust gases are getting into the cooling system and blowing your coolant out.

I had to do the hard fix on 2 occasions.. hopefully you'll have more luck than I.

 

Blown coolant seal - how I lost an engine...

 

This happened to me on two of my FCs. Both were a bad connection at the coolant level sensor on top of the radiator. The wires began coming apart at the sensor. Soldering fixed it on both cars. I would still do the champagne test that Unsupa said just to be safe. Blown coolant seals ******* blow. Been there before.

 

I had the same problem. Fixed it by putting dielectric grease on the sensor connection at the top of the radiator.

 

Do a basic run down of your cooling system. Check for leaks, pressure test, you can replace radiator cap, check for bad connection to the sensor at the top of your radiator, make sure it is full of coolant, etc...

 

1. check that your system is full at the radiator, at the upper fill cap, and that you have enough coolant in the overflow tank.
2. Check to make sure the wire that runs up to the sensor on top of the radiator is intact.
3. See if you're loosing any coolant on the ground/see if there is any in the engine bay.

 

Take a coolant sample to a radiator shop and have it chemically checked for the presence of exhaust gases... if present, you have a blown coolant seal, and the exhaust is getting into the water jacket and pushing the coolant out into the overflow tank... been there done that...

 

Hey guys, I think I have the same problem. Are FCs supposed to eat up coolant? because my light comes on every once in a while, and there is no leaking. How should I check for a blown seal myself?

 

^ Read the post above yours.

 

mine came on this weekend...



>>>busted heater hose!

Good thing I was just rolling around the block.
Good save!

 

I just had this problem and thought I had blown my motor (well actually smog n go did)...

ended up being a stuck thermostat+ bad clutch fan + a busted filler neck that was sucking in air and pushing my coolant out

now it's back to normal but it scared the **** outta me (I was telling everyone I'd be going v8 in 3 months haha)

 

^ lol. oh man good thing it wasnt the motor.

i think my problem is probl the thermostat because on hills it goes on.

but i just don't like how the anti-freeze changed color in the tank( to a Brownish-green color).

how would you know if your clutch fan is bad ?

the coolant senor ! maybe too i will check that. that usually goes ??
fixing this means taking the motor out and changing the seals of the housing ?

Thanks guys for the feedback.

 

fan clutch has an easy test warm your car up to operating temp and turn the fan if its stiff to turn its good. as long as its not free wheeling your basically good.

yes if your coolant seals are blown you need to do a full teardown on the motor and rebuild it. its a bit more than just replacing the seals.

 

how long you think i can run with the coolant seals bad ?



i was looking up the rebuild kits thats thats almost 700$ for a bunch of seals replacement is that the right approach ?

 

did you ever think of checking your fan belt?
If the belt is loose it will Not allow the pump to work and "bingo"!..hot engine,overflow City.

 

I wouldn't just jump to saying you have bad coolant seals. look at the radiator cap, fan clutch, water pump, thermistat, radiator. usually you will have ALOT of white sweet smelling smoke coming from your exhaust if your seals are bad.

 

maybe could be the belt. Did you mean the tension on the belt is loose so would need a new belt or find a way to tighten the belt?

maybe your right. I dont have white smoke coming out. it only smokes the first 5mins after start up. and than no more smoke.

the thermostat in the located in the water pump? not sure.

I'm def looking into changing my oem radiator to a koyo electric one.
with a switch for cooling after the car is off.

 

thermistat is on the waterpump housing, you'll find it at the top radiator hose on the waterpump housing. easy to change takes 20 minutes tops for anyone to do it. 5 if you've changed one before. buy an OEM themistat. its alot more expensive but doesn't all of a sudden go bad after 4 months. POS stant. I caught it just in time but started overheating in less than 1 mile.

 

depends on the condition and how fast they deteriorate.

i had a blown coolant seal on the last engine, but it also turned out to be a piece of my front iron missing. i drove around on that for almost a year before it did not become reliable as a daily mode of transportation.

 

so I dont have a blown seal.. and i just added coolant, but the buzzer keeps going off, so I was wondering if I could take a certain fuse out to disable that buzzer, without other major electical going out too.

 

have you checked your oil? oil buzzers the same. what kind of radiator setup do you have do you have a radiator cap on top of the waterpump, and one on the radiator, or just one on the waterpump. on mine I just have the waterpump fill spot and there is no cap on the rad. if thats how yours is what I do is just raise the front passanger side on a ramp. riding up a larger curb with that tire will also work in a pinch. theres a plug on the radiator nest to the top hose, I unscrew that and fill till water poors out, then I put it in top it off and that seems to work.

If its the sensor it self I'd just ground it till you get a new one. make sure you have coolant every morning to be safe.

 

Don't disable the buzzer... That's just asking for trouble. If you notice coolant is going into the overflow but not going back to the system, check the radiator cap. Also check the line that goes from the filler neck to the overflow tank for leaks. Also very important: check the plug on the coolant level sensor (it's a corroded bullet connector on my car). Clean all the corrosion off of it or replace it.

 

in the radiator cap, what would i need to look for ? is it just better ordering a new cap (seals might be gone)

coolant lever sensor that is located on the overflow tank?? or somewhere in the radiator?

BTW i was thinking about changing the radiator to an electric one with an electric dual fan or single....?

any feedback on this set-up for recommendations ?

also i would like to add a separates switch to turn it on while the car is off for the electric fan im guessing....would that be possible ??

Thanks for the feedback.